Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to an apparatus for mounting a brake line support on each end of a rail car, and more specifically to a coupler head and mounting bracket combination supporting a brake hose fitting. The mounting system may be used with any type of rail car, but features of the invention are particularly adapted for use with a rail car known as a “cushioned car”, characterized by having a shock absorbing cushioning unit. Embodiments are particularly adapted for “E” type and “F” type coupler heads.
Description of the Related Art
A brake line for a rail car generally consists of a rigid pipe fixedly attached to a rail car, terminating in an angle cock valve at the end of the rail car. The angle cock valve is connected to a flexible hose supported on a hanger bracket, which maintains a predetermined distance between the hose and the ground, which distance is specified by standards set by the American Association of Railroads (“AAR”). The flexible hose in turn is connected to a trainline support casting, connected to a further flexible hose, referred to as the “end hose”, terminating at a “glad hand” fitting. The glad hand connects to a like series of structures on the next adjacent railcar. This system of flexible hoses between cars permits them to be reliably disconnected from and connected with each other, and supports the trainline through a turn, when the axes of adjacent rail cars and couplers are not in alignment. Failure of these elements may result in an emergency brake application, and there are consequently strict AAR standards, and relatively few acceptable arrangements to meet the above stated objectives.
Not long after cushioned cars were first introduced, U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,868 to Yates, assigned to Pullman Incorporated, described and claimed a support bracket mounted directly on a coupler head. However the design had significant drawbacks and did not meet with general acceptance. One drawback of the Pullman design is that mounting the bracket on the coupler requires all four of the conventionally provided openings on the coupler head, which is not adaptable to variations in coupler head designs. Use of all four apertures also prohibits the mounting of an end-of-train device, which is conventionally mounted on the coupler head using two of the apertures. Further, the Pullman design did not allow the trainline support casting to adjust its angle, and the bracket is positioned so far to the side of the coupler, that it could interfere with the angle cock valve on many current cushioned car designs.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,780,022 by the assignee herein describes a coupler-mounted bracket mounted directly on the coupler head using two apertures on the coupler head. The coupler-mounted bracket supports a trainline support casting capable of partial rotational movement in a horizontal plane while supporting brake hoses between railway cars. This casting affords several advantages over the Pullman design, in that it is more streamlined laterally, and uses only two holes on the face of the coupler head, among other features. However, positioning the coupler-mounted bracket on an external face on the guard arm side of the coupler head still has drawbacks, in that the bracket may be attached only in a single fixed position with respect to the coupler head and the bracket may interfere laterally with equipment on the rail car body. The coupler-mounted bracket has also been found to interfere with the car body in the longitudinal direction in some cases. Additionally, attaching the bracket to existing apertures in the coupler head requires non-standard fasteners to accommodate the shape and dimensions of typical coupler head designs, and the bracket mounting position on the guard arm side of the coupler head requires the bracket to have a somewhat elongated and wide shape while positioning the trainline support casting in the desired location.
Thus, there is a need for an improved assembly for mounting a bracket to the coupler head and supporting a trainline support casting (or similar device) that reduces the overall size of the bracket, which increases its strength, prevents the bracket from interfering with the car body in the lateral and longitudinal directions, and which provides for simpler attachment of the bracket at different height positions with conventional fasteners.